|
I'm sure I won't be able to find the link (it might have been print, anyway), but a while back there was an article on the psychological reasons that having women front-line combat troops could be hard for the group.
One reason was as listed before; rape. Not only is it horrible at first, but it also has lingering effects, such as preganacy. It's kind of like long-term pyschological warfare. Even if there was an abortion, the thought of being impregnated by the enemy in such a horrible way has lasting effects.
Secondly was that it has been shown that humans, both male and female, are better able to cope with the death of a male than a female. For some reason we are wired to be more emotionally sensitive to a female's death than a male. The frontline deaths of females would be a major morale issue.
Third is the "birds and bees" issue. Men and women living and fighting together are bound to have interactions that are a little "informal." These non-planotic bonds can be difficult when giving orders or in maintaining objectivity and clear judgement.
I think that women should be allowed to fight front line if needed. However, it seems that we already have more than enough men to fight there, and there is no real reason to introduce women. However, as said before if they are to fight there, they need to undego the same training and the same tests physically and mentally as the men. If the guy on the right can hoist me over his back and pull me out of danger, the girl on my left better be able to do the same thing.
Now the physiological reasons for not having front line women is a whole other issue...
|